Trout Point Cooking & Wine School announces new 2012 offerings

Entering its 13th year of offering multi-day culinary vacations, Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia will add 1-day seminars in a series called l’Art de vivre. Consisting of classes with the Lodge’s chef/proprietors, guests will also receive a Saturday night in a main lodge room or suite plus breakfast and 5-course dinner. The series focuses on food and wine appreciation outside of the kitchen.

Planned for May, June, September, and October, 2012, classes will be limited to 10 participants and encompass about 2-3 hours spent learning about special aspects of food & wine.

The cost is $100/person in addition to the regular Lodge rates for room and Half Board.

The purpose of the Art de vivre series is to provide special insight into the finer aspects of living relative to food & drink.

Cheese appreciation will cover the different types of cheese—from soft bodied, surface-ripened ones like Livarot to hard, grating cheese like Reggiano Parmigianno—as well as how to store, age (affinage), and serve cheeses, including the cheese course within a multi-course meal.

Espresso expressions will explore the basics of coffee cultivation, quality, and roasting and then demonstrate how to make the perfect cup of espresso and cappuccino. How to select and operate an espresso machine—including a comparison of 4 different machines at the Lodge—will conclude the class.

The Smoking class will introduce the techniques for infusing seafood and meats with savoury smoke flavour, naturally, including how the Lodge makes its own acclaimed smoked salmon. In the Gourmet mushrooms session, guests will learn about the different kinds & qualities of edible mushrooms—wild & cultivated—as well as how to select and store them.

Trout Point Lodge proprietors Vaughn Perret and Charles Leary operated an award-winning, diversified organic farm before moving to Nova Scotia. They were among a handful of North Americans inducted into the French Guilde des fromagers in 1994 and operated an acclaimed New Orleans restaurant that featured their farm’s organic vegetables, cheeses, and exotic mushrooms. They have cooked at Trout Point since 2000, which has won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence each year since 2007. This year, Departures magazine chose the Lodge among the world’s top 10 foodie getaways.

The Lodge has also announced dates for its 3-day, 2-night Nova Scotia Seafood Cooking School program. This all-inclusive culinary vacation including accommodation, meals, hands-on instruction, and field trips will be held May 18-20, 2012: Mediterranean Cuisine with an emphasis on seafood as well as June 15-17 and September 28-30, 2012: Seafood Cookery.

About Trout Point Lodge Nova Scotia’s only member of Relais & Chateaux, the Lodge consists of 7 deluxe guest rooms, 2 suites, and 2 cottages. Trout Point has achieved a 4 1/2 star rating from Canada Select since opening in 2000 and won the inaugural Parks Canada Sustainable Tourism Award.